On the Track
National Training Centre - Track
We started the day with a warm-up on the cross country course - probably the only day of the year I run trails officially....although I guess that isn't quite true anymore since I've done a few easier trail runs with RunTOBeer.
I found it quite humid, so I took my inhaler well before the workout, but was still feeling a bit heavy legged and lung-ed (which isn't a word but basically means I could feel my breathing was not the best).
The dynamic stretches were terrific - running though As, Bs, Cs, Karaoke, ballerinas, penguins, this one where you hop and open up your hips forward, side and front again taught by Coach Gabbi, and another one involving skipping and arm swings.
Then....we had the main workout: Sets of 3x400 descending. My watch isn't great at proper pacing for short workouts, so I just guessed based on times I ran at Monarch Park.
But here's the thing....when you think about 400m times based on the times you were running on a 367m track (which I completely forgot about at the time)...you're going to go way too hard.
And low and behold, my first
three reps were 1:44, 1:42, 1:41. All of these times seemed in line with my
previous results from what I recalled, so I was happy....but I was also really gasping for air. I assumed it was my asthma, so just tried to grin and bear it.
Then I did the second set. This set was much slower (1:55,
1:49, and 1:47). I decided to stop after that rather than do a 3rd set, knowing
I was cooked. I felt like I'd dropped time like no tomorrow, so I was obviously really having a bad day.
And this is where it gets funny. When I actually
looked at my actual paces in hindsight, the second 3 reps were right where they should
have been in the first place given the goals (~10k pace, 5k pace, a bit
faster). The first set ended up being much faster because I forgot that the times in my
head had been for a slightly shorter distance. I honestly just went too hard
accidentally and couldn't sustain it. Sure my asthma issues didn't help - but I honestly can't blame my inability to do more reps on it entirely. Not when I realize my early three reps were much faster than I'd planned.
Lesson
learned though: For short stuff....even a few seconds different can make or
break your ability to keep going. If I'd paced both reps like I did the second,
I probably would've been fine for more reps. I admit, it was a bizarre mistake
to make - but at least I actually had 6 nice 400s, rather than just the 3 I
thought were good and the 3 I thought were terrible! :)
Rob Buren - Definitely Rocking his Chair
In the Pool
After some Honey Stinger Chews and a short rest, I actually felt a lot better. On the pool deck, Coach Gabby walked us through some mobility exercises, and then we split into 3 groups for some swim work.
The NTC has an amazing pool!
Our group started with Coach James for a good main set. The core of this was descending 50s (yards, not meters). This went extremely well for me - with my pace much faster than I would've guessed. We then had Coach Alex and Coach Gabbi each work with us on different drills (hip lead roll, fingertips, fists, sculling, one arm).
At one point, Coach Mark came by to pull us out of the water to do the swim video - which I did. He always does a good job of making sure I'm extra tired in these videos...I'm almost afraid to watch!
Special Guest Speaker - Rob Buren
After the swim, we were treated to subs for lunch and an amazing guest speaker - someone I've thought was inspiring since the day I met him at camp a couple of years ago: paratriathlete Rob Buren. I actually interviewed Rob for my blog last summer when he was about to race his Kona Qualifying race.
Guest Speaker Rob Buren of Rock the Chair
Rob's talk was amazing. I knew part of his story from when I interviewed him for my blog - and from talks we've had at camp, but hearing him talk through his life, the accident and how he earned his way to Kona was incredible nonetheless. I learned a lot more about him than I'd known before - like his joy racing motorcycles and how his friends helped set him up so he could ride after becoming paraplegic. If anyone is an example of 'Anything is Possible' - Rob is it. His blog Rock the Chair is a great name - because Rob does that every singe day.
If you ever need a motivational speaker - Rob is a great one. He's great guy, honest and funny, and really has an amazing story. I think everyone could do with conversation with Rob, particularly if you wonder if you can do something. The answer is Yes, You Can.
Perfect words from the end of Rob's presentation
Coaches Panel
We wrapped up at the National Training Centre with a coaches panel with all the camp coaches. It was a great time with lots of questions asked. The one I put forward I figured we could all learn from - was what has been their biggest training mistake. The most prevalent answer was one we probably all fail at times: Going too hard on the easy days. The trick is to go easy on the easy days and hard on the hard days - so you don't get stuck in what I think one coach called 'Tempo Hell.' Coach Gabbi also mentioned remembering to have fun and not beating yourself up if you miss a workout. The reality is most of us are in triathlon to have fun - and we all have lives. Balance is critical.
All the camp coaches - except Coach James who moderated
The Afternoon: bike drills now with more glass
After a brief grocery store run, lunch and a bit of time working on actual work, I headed down to the bike skills session. Normally this involves a lot of riding in cul-de-sacs at low speeds working on cornering and, yes, some U-turns.
Coach James giving an intro to the beginner bike handling group
Coach Alex ready to roll
But this year, there seemed to be a whole lot of glass lying around, so after a few loops of the resort and a few minutes of cornering, Coach James decided to take us out for a ride instead and work on paceline riding.
Brief stint of cornering practice before finding all the glass
Given all the glass lying around (and we had to wonder if someone had dumped glass intentionally since the glass was sprinkled very oddly everywhere around the resort without any signs of anything being broken), it was definitely the right choice.
We went out to a very quite sub-division near a school, working on paceline drills for much of the way - picking up the speed of the transition over time to make it a rolling paceline. By the end, I think we were really getting it down.
Not a bad bike selfie!
Champagne Toast for Paula's Birthday
Back at the house, a few of us worked on a jigsaw puzzle Paula had brought, and had dinner. While debating Allen's Challenge tactics (you'll hear more about that insanity tomorrow no doubt), Paula pulled out a small bottle of Champagne to share. It was her birthday yesterday and the coaches got her a small box of 4 very cute bottles. So we had a little toast to Paula - although the picture didn't turn out all that well unfortunately - it's a bit blurry. Thankfully we have 3 more bottles - so we can keep trying!
All in all, it was a great Day 2 of camp. The weather was particularly great - and the forecast is good for the rest of the week. Fingers crossed!
No comments:
Post a Comment